Bertram Charles Binning Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Bertram Charles Binning Art Value Price Guide

Oct. 18, 2024
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) Canada - Canadian
Est: $5,000 - $7,500
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) ; dimensions 30 x 39 cm (12 x 15 1/3 in.) ; frame size 33 x 42 cm (13 x 16 1/2 in.) ; c. 1940-50s ; signed lower right corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $430 , National post with tracking service $285 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $215
Art-Torg
Oct. 18, 2024
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) Canada - Canadian
Est: $6,000 - $9,000
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) ; dimensions 34 x 44 cm (13 x 17 1/3 in.) ; frame size 37 x 47 cm (14 1/2 x 18 1/2 in.) ; signed and dated 1949 lower left corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $430 , National post with tracking service $285 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $215
Art-Torg
Aug. 16, 2024
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) Canada - Canadian
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) ; oil on board / c.1950s ; dimensions 56 x 38 cm (22 x 15 in.) ; frame size 62 x 44 cm (24 1/2 x 17 1/3 in.) ; signed upper left corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $430 , National post with tracking service $285 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $215
Art-Torg
Aug. 16, 2024
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) Canada - Canadian
Est: $6,000 - $9,000
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) ; oil on board / c.1950s ; dimensions 48,5 x 33,5 cm (19 x 13 1/4 in.) ; frame size 51 x 37 cm (20 x 14 1/2 in.) ; signed upper right corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $430 , National post with tracking service $285 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $215
Art-Torg
Jun. 28, 2024
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) Canada - Canadian
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) ; Untitled ; c. 1950s ; oil on board / framed ; dimensions 51 x 43 cm (20 x 17 in.) ; frame size 55 x 47 cm (21 2/3 x 18 1/2 in.) ; signed upper right ; Shipping to USA - DHL $430 , National post with tracking service $285 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $215
Art-Torg
Dec. 08, 2023
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) Canada - Canadian
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) ; Untitled ; c. 1950s ; oil on board / framed ; dimensions 51 x 43 cm (20 x 17 in.) ; frame size 55 x 47 cm (21 2/3 x 18 1/2 in.) ; signed upper right ; Shipping to USA - DHL $430 , National post with tracking service $285 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $215
Art-Torg
Oct. 21, 2023
BERTRAM CHARLES (BC) BINNING ( Canadian 1909 - 1976 ) Atomic Fountain
Est: $1,500 - $2,000
BERTRAM CHARLES (BC) BINNING RCA, BCSFA, CGP, CSGA ( Canadian 1909 - 1976 ) Atomic Fountain
Westbridge Fine Art Auction House
Oct. 14, 2022
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) Canadian
Est: $20,000 - $25,000
Bertram Charles BINNING (1909-1976) ; Night Bridges ; 1953 ; oil on board ; dimensions 76 x 61 cm (30 x 24 in.) ; signed, named and dates on verso and lower left corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $550 , National post with tracking service $350 / Shipping to EU, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $420 , National post with tracking service $280
Art-Torg
Jan. 23, 2021
Bertram Charles Binning
Est: -
Bertram Charles Binning (kanadisch, 1909-1976), Convoy at Rendezvous, 1948, Siedbruck, sig. und dat. Blattmaß: 55 x 89 cm. Kunstbestand Conzen.
Auktionshaus Demessieur
Dec. 04, 2020
CONVOY AT RENDEZVOUS (1948)
Est: €800 - €1,600
BERTRAM CHARLES BINNING 1909 Medicine Hat, Kanada - 1976 Vancouver, Kanada CONVOY AT RENDEZVOUS (1948) Farbserigraphie auf festem Papier. DM 40 x 75 cm, BM 53,5 x 86,5 cm. Unten links im Stein signiert und datiert 'B. C. Binning (19)48'.
Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen Düsseldorf
Sep. 08, 2019
Bertram Charles (BC) Binning - Ships in Classical Calm
Est: $1,500 - $2,000
Ships in Classical Calm - silkscreen, 30" x 40", signed in plate, inscribed by A J Casson (unframed)
Westbridge Fine Art Auction House
Apr. 24, 2019
Bertram Charles (BC) Binning, Canadian (1909 - 1976), Summer, limited print 17/20, 19 x 25 in. (48.3 x 63.5 cm)
Est: $700 - $900
signed
Maynards Fine Art & Antiques
May. 20, 2018
Painting, Bertram Charles Binning
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Bertram Charles Binning (Canadian, 1909-1976), Untitled, oil and pencil on card board, signed lower right, Pagurian Press Limited (Toronto, Ontario) label affixed verso, board: 15"h x 12.5"w, overall (with frame): 16"h x 13.5"w
Clars Auctions
Jan. 07, 2017
BERTRAM CHARLES BINNING (1909-1976, BC) - VANCOUVER CONVOY AT RENDEZVOUS - Serigraph image on paper of several boats in stylized har...
Est: $150 - $300
BERTRAM CHARLES BINNING (1909-1976, BC) - VANCOUVER CONVOY AT RENDEZVOUS - Serigraph image on paper of several boats in stylized harbor with colorful flags. Housed in black wood frame without glass. Signed in plate at bottom left, dated 1948. 17.5" x 31" x 1"
Pacific Galleries
Sep. 22, 2016
BERTRAM CHARLES BINNING, R.C.A., SHIPS IN CLASSICAL CALM, silkscreen, 30 ins x 40 ins; 76.2 cms x 101.6 cms
Est: -
BERTRAM CHARLES BINNING, R.C.A.SHIPS IN CLASSICAL CALMsilkscreensigned and dated ‘48 in the print 30 ins x 40 ins; 76.2 cms x 101.6 cms Provenance:Private Collection, OntarioLiterature:Ian Sigvaldason and Scott Steedman, Art for War and Peace: How a Great Public Art Project Helped Canada Discover Itself, Read Leaf, Vancouver, 2015, page 120 for a discussion of this silkscreen and the painting on which it is based and page 121, for Ships reproduced in colour.Note:The painting on which this print is based is in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.Estimate: $2,000–3,000
Waddington's
Mar. 30, 2016
Bertram Charles Binning, Canadian (1909 - 1976), Atomic Fountain, silkscreen #35/100, 25 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (64.8 x 49.5 cm)
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
signed in plate
Maynards Fine Art & Antiques
Mar. 19, 2016
Bertram Charles (BC) Binning (Canadian, 1909-1976) "Signals at Night"
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Sgn. lower left, B.C. Binning. Titled & dated on reverse, 1952. Vancouver, BC. Oil on panel.
Cottone Auctions
Dec. 11, 2014
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning, (Canadian, 1901-1976), Untitled
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning (Canadian, 1901-1976) Untitled oil on burlap laid to board signed B.C. Binning (lower center) 18 x 11 1/2 inches.
Hindman
Mar. 28, 2013
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian ink on paper Forest Interior
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian ink on paper Forest Interior 24 x 18 inches 61 x 45.7 centimeters Provenance:Acquired directly from Jessie Binning, the Artist's wife, by the present Private Collection, Vancouver Please note: this work is unframed.
Heffel
Nov. 22, 2012
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on board Little Red & Yellow Ships 8 5/8 x 10 1/2 inches 21.9 x 26.7 centimeters signed and dated 1949 and on verso signed, titled and inscribed ""$35.00"" on the artist's label Provenance:Private Collection, USA B.C. Binning was a catalyst in the cultural community of Vancouver. He established the Fine Arts Department at the University of British Columbia and, as its head, involved himself in many cultural events and activities. Binning had a great love of the sea, and explored the waters around Vancouver in his sailboat. These experiences led to his use of nautical images - the tall hulls depicted here being inspired by a sighting of towering World War II ships anchored in a cove in Indian Arm. This delightful oil contains Binning's classic and eloquent motifs of semi-abstracted rigging, masts and tall triangular hulls of ships, also featured in such stunning paintings as the 1948 oil Ships at Quiet Anchor and the 1949 canvas Fairweather Signals, both in the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, as well as the 1950 canvas Seaside Facade, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Little Red & Yellow Ships strikes the fine balance between formality and lyrical playfulness found in the most sought-after work of this pioneer West Coast modernist.
Heffel
Sep. 27, 2012
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian paper collage on cardboard Optional Module - Grey No. 15
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian paper collage on cardboard Optional Module - Grey No. 15 18 1/2 x 11 inches 47 x 27.9 centimeters titled and inscribed ""Optionals"" Literature:Abraham J. Rogatnick, Ian M. Thom and Adele Weder, B.C. Binning, 2006, a study for a 1969 - 1970 series of paintings such as Optional Modules in Blue and Greys and Optional Modules reproduced pages 156 and 157 Provenance: Private Collection, Vancouver
Heffel
May. 17, 2012
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $12,000 - $16,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on board Shapes in Tension 8 x 18 inches 20.3 x 45.7 centimeters signed and on verso signed, titled, dated 1950 and inscribed ""2968 Mathers Cr., West Vancouver - Canada"" on the artist's label Literature:Doreen E. Walker, B.C. Binning, A Classical Spirit, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1986, unpaginated Provenance:Private Collection, California In 1949, B.C. Binning was appointed Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture at the University of British Columbia. His profession honed his awareness of line, geometry and spatiality. In 1950 Binning was working with both abstracted marine images and pure abstraction, such as this vibrant work in which two-dimensional geometric shapes in bright primary colours oscillate against a background of swipes of black and white. Shapes in Tension is a carefully thought-out composition, yet it contains an element of playfulness in the relationships of the shapes as they hover in the spatial plane. Insight into this dichotomy in his work was revealed by Binning's comment when he stated, "I think my work plays between two sides of me: there is a certain joy and fun - perhaps even wit - but this seems to vacillate every now and then between another extreme of plain coolness - which I call a classic sense." Shapes in Tension, from Binning's pivotal 1950s period, is a fine example of Binning's modernist aesthetic of formalism enlivened by a joyous sense of play.
Heffel
May. 17, 2012
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on board Vacant and Occupied Squares 17 3/4 x 11 7/8 inches 45.1 x 30.2 centimeters signed and dated 1950 and on verso titled and inscribed ""16"" on the artist's label Literature:Abraham J. Rogatnick, Ian M. Thom and Adele Weder, B.C. Binning, 2006, page 125 Provenance:Private Collection, Ontario B.C. Binning's interest in abstraction goes back to 1939 in London when he studied at the Ozenfant Academy with Henry Moore, at which time he became aware of the work of artists such as Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. In 1947, Binning took a leave from teaching at the Vancouver School of Art to design two houses and, in the process, reconsidered the direction of his painting. The influence of architecture heightened his awareness of the formal elements of painting, and he had "the sudden realization of what can happen creatively when one frees not only colour, but form and everything else, from visual accident and recreates through the formal and architectural approach." By 1948 Binning was painting pivotal works of abstracted marine subjects, and marine motifs became important elements in his work. Vacant and Occupied Squares, from this important period, takes abstraction a step further, and its contrasting textural background, shapes, strong colour areas and patterning create a vital dance of forms. Lyrical yet formally balanced, Vacant and Occupied Squares is evidence of Binning's status as a quintessential West Coast modernist.
Heffel
May. 17, 2012
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on board Two Ships Standing Off 14 x 7 1/8 inches 35.6 x 18.1 centimeters signed and on verso signed and titled Literature:Doreen E. Walker, B.C. Binning, A Classical Spirit, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1986, unpaginated Provenance:Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., Vancouver Private Collection, British Columbia A pioneer West Coast modernist, B.C. Binning was head of the Fine Arts Department at the University of British Columbia, an architect, an internationally recognized artist and an important cultural catalyst in the Vancouver art scene. From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Binning painted semi-abstract nautical themes. The tall standing vessel in Two Ships Standing Off is an iconic image used in works such as the well-known 1948 oil Ships in a Classical Calm, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. This important motif was derived from a pivotal experience Binning had during an excursion into Indian Arm just after the Second World War, where he saw a group of World War II ships tied up in a cove, and became fascinated with the image of the hulls towering above him. He recounted, "There is something about a ship viewed - especially bow on - that has a regalness about it and the great shapes, to me, were terrifically impressive." Binning often included colourful nautical details, and the pennants, rigging and navigation wheel add a lyrical note to the elegance and formal strength of this modernist work.
Heffel
Nov. 26, 2011
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian silkscreen Ships in Classical Calm 30 x 40 inches 76.2 x 101.6 centimeters signed, dated 1948 and inscribed by A.J. Casson: ""Supervised by A.J. Casson"" Provenance:Private Collection, British Columbia
Heffel
Jun. 30, 2011
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian serigraph on paper Atomic Fountain 14 x 10 inches 35.6 x 25.4 centimeters signed in the screen and titled in pencil in the margin Provenance:Private Collection, Vancouver
Heffel
May. 26, 2011
BERTRAM CHARLES BINNING 1909 - 1976
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
BERTRAM CHARLES BINNING 1909 - 1976 FAIR WEATHER SIGNALS (SKETCH) 1950 signed and dated upper right B.C. Binning '50; titled by the artist on a label on the reverse oil and pencil on board, mounted on board 30.5 by 38.1 cm. 12 by 15 in.
Sotheby's
May. 17, 2011
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on board Two Ships with Orange Sun 13 1/4 x 12 inches 33.7 x 30.5 centimeters signed and on verso titled on the artist's label and inscribed ""$60"" on the exhibition label Literature:Do You Own a Canadian Painting?, Vancouver Art Gallery, Women's Auxiliary, 1951, listed page 1, for $60 Provenance:Collection of the Artist Women's Auxiliary, Fourth Annual Sale and Exhibition, Vancouver Art Gallery, 1951 Acquired by Mrs. L. Hopen from the above exhibition deVooght Galleries Ltd., Vancouver Private Collection, Vancouver Exhibited:Vancouver Art Gallery, Fourth Annual Sale and Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings, organized by the Women's Auxiliary, Do You Own a Canadian Painting?, 1951 This vibrant B.C. Binning painting was acquired from the Women's Auxiliary at the Vancouver Art Gallery, whose yearly sales / exhibitions were organized with the intent of encouraging collectors to bring Canadian art into their homes. Binning was a pioneer West Coast modernist, involved in all aspects of the arts. He was the head of the Fine Arts Department at UBC, an architect, an artist and an arts advocate. Primarily a draughtsman in his early career, Binning depicted West Coast life in his drawings. In 1948, he began to paint predominantly in oil; his subjects were ships and the sea, perhaps inspired by his own sailboat, which he named Skookumchuck. By 1950, Binning had developed a semi-abstract style that still relied on his nautical subjects. Massive architectural forms of ships at anchor dominated his works from this period. This whimsical painting with two large pared-down boats bobbing under the vibrant orange sun is a superb example of Binning's work from this highly sought-after era.
Heffel
May. 17, 2011
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $35,000 - $45,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on board Four Ships in Variable Weather No. 1 12 x 18 inches 30.5 x 45.7 centimeters signed and dated 1949 and on verso signed, titled on a label and inscribed on a label ""Collection: Oscar Erickson"", also inscribed with Binning's address ""2968 Mathers Cr., West Vancouver"" Literature:Doreen E. Walker, B.C. Binning, A Classical Spirit, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1986, the 1948 oil on board entitled Four Ships in Variable Weather reproduced catalogue #1, unpaginated Abraham J. Rogatnick et al, B.C. Binning, 2006, page 126 Provenance:Oscar Erickson, Vancouver By descent to the family of Arthur Erickson, Vancouver In the late 1940s and early 1950s, B.C. Binning painted a group of works based on the sea and ships. Binning sailed his boat up Indian Arm just after the War, and discovered a number of World War II ships tied up in one of the coves there. Their large hulls towering above his small boat made an indelible impression on him - he found their presence regal as they floated motionless on the calm water. This elegant yet playful painting contains this important motif of towering hulls, along with other nautical details such as rigging and pennants. Although formal and architectural in its arrangement of elements, Four Ships in Variable Weather No. 1 possesses a spirit of joy that is unmistakable amid the formality of the work. Binning wrote affectionately of the boats that were such important motifs in his work, "They can be lyric, no doubt about that, grand and elegant with dignity and power, or jolly and happy for joy. They abstract well." This work was a gift from the artist to Oscar Erickson, renowned architect Arthur Erickson's father. Both men were Binning's friends, thus they had access to Binning's best works.
Heffel
May. 05, 2011
Bertram Charles Binning, RCA, BCSFA, CGP, CSGA, Canadian (1909-1976), Merging Sides, 1967, colour serigraph on wove paper, 10/50, 15...
Est: $500 - $700
signed
Maynards Fine Art & Antiques
Mar. 31, 2011
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian silkscreen Ships in Classical Calm 30 x 40 inches 76.2 x 101.6 centimeters signed and dated 1948 in the screen Provenance:Private Collection, Vancouver This silkscreen is based on B.C. Binnings well known 1948 oil Ships in Classical Calm, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.
Heffel
Mar. 31, 2011
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian serigraph on paper Atomic Fountain 14 x 10 inches 35.6 x 25.4 centimeters signed in the screen, titled and editioned 79/100 Provenance:Private Collection, Vancouver
Heffel
May. 29, 2010
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian silkscreen Summer Seascape 8 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches 21 x 13.3 centimeters initialed in the print and on verso dated 1/11/54 on The Art Gallery of Toronto label and inscribed ""Summer Seascape for Xmas Time"" on a label Provenance:Collection of H.S. Southam, Ottawa Private Collection, Toronto Exhibited:The Art Gallery of Toronto, November 1, 1954, label on verso
Heffel
May. 26, 2010
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $18,000 - $25,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on canvas Porto Pacifica 35 x 42 inches 88.9 x 106.7 centimeters on verso signed, titled and dated 1966 Literature:Abraham J. Rogatnick, Ian M. Thom and Adele Weder, B.C. Binning, 2006, page 151 Provenance:Acquired at The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria sale of 1969 by Douglas Cole, Vancouver By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver One of the West Coast's seminal figures in the art world, during the 1960s B.C. Binning was the Head of the Department of Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia. During this time, his work became increasingly abstract, moving from abstracted images of harbours and ships to simple shapes and colour fields. Busy with his many academic duties at this time, he produced only a small number of paintings in a group he called Motifs. Although the paintings were abstract, a connection to his environment was still retained, as this title indicates. Binning also stated that the space of the West Coast was suffused into these works, stating "There is a bigness of shape around B.C. that you can't get away from.....Whether you are looking at the mighty trees, or up into the mountains - or at the expansive space of the sea - there is this tremendous scale. I would imagine that this comes into these works." Porto Pacifica is a vibrant painting, its pulsating orange colour field emphatically intersected by black lines, boldly pushing out beyond the edge of the canvas.
Heffel
May. 26, 2010
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $60,000 - $80,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on canvas Nocturnal Fountain 56 1/4 x 28 1/4 inches 142.9 x 71.7 centimeters signed and dated 1952 and on verso titled on the BC Artists' Exhibition label Literature:Doreen Walker, B.C. Binning: A Retrospective, Fine Arts Gallery, University of British Columbia, 1973, listed page 35 Nicholas Tuele, B.C. Binning: A Classical Spirit, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1986, unpaginated Provenance:Acquired directly from the Artist By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver Exhibited:Vancouver Art Gallery, 22nd Annual BC Artists' Exhibition, 1953 Fine Arts Gallery, University of British Columbia, B.C. Binning: A Retrospective, March 13 - 31, 1973, catalogue #35 B.C. Binning was an important seminal figure in the West Coast art scene. His teaching career began in 1933 with his appointment as an instructor at the Vancouver School of Art, then he continued on to the University of British Columbia in 1940 as an Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture, followed by his establishing and becoming the Head of the Department of Fine Arts there in 1955. He was a cultural catalyst in Vancouver at the time, helping to found the UBC Art Centre Gallery and the Nitobe Memorial Garden, as well as organizing the UBC Festival of the Contemporary Arts. He exhibited internationally: 1950 in a survey of Canadian Art in Washington, DC, 1952 at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, 1955 in Venezuela and Washington, 1957 in Milan and 1958 at the Brussels World's Fair. Also involved with integrating art into architecture, he designed murals for the facade of the BC Hydro building, the interior of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Granville and Dunsmuir branch. He was part of an Art in Living group that included Lawren Harris, whose purpose was to inform the public about the benefits of good design. He was a vital formative part of the West Coast scene in both art and architecture, affecting generations of students and the cultural scene as a whole, and his influence also extended nationally and internationally. He served on the Visual Arts Committee of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa from 1964 to 1967, and was on the Canada Council's Advisory Panel for the Arts from 1965 to 1969. The 1950s were an important time in Binning's work, in which he explored nautical themes. Binning had a sailboat, a 20-footer called the Skookumchuck, and he and his wife Jessie spent many hours wandering the coast, exploring coves and inlets - observing the life of the sea. Binning was greatly interested in all the nautical objects he saw - buoys, lights, ropes, flags and signals - and used them as motifs in his work, such as in the 1950 oil Night Harbour. Black background works were inspired by his experience of the sea at night, coming into the harbour and seeing, as he related, "all this black, velvety summer night.....with all these signal lights flashing, and neon signs.....it's really quite stirring." The drawn line was important to Binning - two of his four years of study at The Vancouver School of Art during the late 1920s and early 1930s were devoted exclusively to drawing. This was reinforced during a period of study in England in the late 1930s, when one of his instructors was sculptor Henry Moore, to whom drawing was a fundamental essential. Binning used geometrical forms in his work, but not in a coldly mathematical way - his highly individual sense of line prevented that. He took a lyrical approach to line and form - there is order yet playfulness in his work. Paintings such as this large and superlative work display his unique sense of line, and show a finely tuned balance between formalism and playfulness. Nocturnal Fountain is a classic work from the 1950s, full of symbolic, abstracted forms derived from the world around him. As Nicholas Tuele writes, Binning's paintings are "universal statements informed by local experience." In this painting, shapes and lines against the black background pop forward with a jaunty playfulness, and the over-all impression is of one of simplicity and grace of form. The viewer's eye follows the symbols, which activate and interact on the black surface, which recedes into the depths. Forms are accentuated with bright and lively colours - red, blue, yellow, orange and green - and are connected by delicate, refined white lines. Nocturnal Fountain, elegant and graceful, emanates a quiet, joyous radiance, making it singularly unforgettable.
Heffel
May. 26, 2010
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $20,000 - $25,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on board Sea Side Figures 7 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches 19 x 27.3 centimeters signed and dated 1950 and on verso titled on the artist's label Literature:Doreen Walker, B.C. Binning, A Classical Spirit, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1986, the larger version 1950 oil entitled Figures on Seashore listed and reproduced, unpaginated Provenance:Family of Arthur Erickson, Vancouver During the 1950s, B.C. Binning's abstracted symbols were often derived from the objects of the sea. In Sea Side Figures, next to the abstracted figures on the shore are pennants and a tower, possibly a lighthouse. Binning lived near the seashore in West Vancouver, was a sailor, and clearly relished summer life on the sea and beach. In contrast to the whimsy of his recreational pursuits, he was a respected academic who began his career in the Faculty of Architecture at the University of British Columbia, and later founded the Department of Fine Arts there. Binning's striking black background works, such as lot 9 in this sale, were inspired by his revelatory aesthetic reaction to a velvety-black night view of the sea one summer. In this superb work, bright colours are activated by the black and the symbolic forms exude a jaunty energy, while their orderly arrangement cools the composition. Binning was very conscious of this dichotomy between the playful and the classic, stating, "I once said that the business of serious joy should be one of the main occupations of the artist. I do like joy.....I do like order. I think my work plays between two sides of me."
Heffel
Apr. 13, 2010
Bertram Charles Binning, RCA, BCSFA, CGP, RSGA
Est: $60,000 - $80,000
Bertram Charles Binning, RCA, BCSFA, CGP, RSGA Canadian (1909-1976) FOUR SHIPS ON A NORTHWESTERLY COURSE oil on board signed B.C. Binning 11 3/4 x 17 3/4 in. (c. 1950)
Maynards Fine Art & Antiques
Nov. 26, 2009
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on gesso panel Atomic Fountain "9 x 8 inches 22.9 x 20.3 centimeters initialed and on verso signed, titled on a label and inscribed """"CS Band"""" on the label and on the board Provenance:Laing Galleries, Toronto Charles S. Band, Toronto Estate of Helen E. Band, Toronto Exhibited:Laing Galleries, Toronto, Exhibition of Paintings by B.C. Binning, December 3, 1954, catalogue #9 B.C. Binning's painting in the collection of Charles S. Band is symbolic, for it is a keystone piece in a great Canadian art collection containing works by artists from the east to the west. Lawren Harris's move to Vancouver in 1940 precipitated an interest in the west Coast artistic community. Harris had a keen interest in Binning's work and the two would soon become close friends. The arts community in Canada was interwoven and Band corresponded with Binning from the 1950s onwards. The Band collection came to include some of Binning's strongest works from the lat 1940s and early 1950s. Band donated two of his Binning masterworks to museums - White Ship, 1948 was donated to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1970 and Convey at Rendezvous, 1948, was donated to the Vancouver Art Gallery. Atomic Fountain is also a testament to this important period in Binning's work, in which ships, harbours, signals, buoys and geometric shapes create linear and colourful compositions. "
Heffel
Jun. 17, 2009
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $20,000 - $25,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on burlap on board Device for Receiving Aesthetic Response 16 3/4 x 11 1/8 inches 42.5 x 28.3 centimeters signed and on verso titled on the Art Gallery of Toronto label Provenance:Private Collection, Ontario Exhibited:Art Gallery of Toronto, Women's Committee, Sixth Annual Sale of Paintings and Sculpture, November 7 - 16, 1952 B.C. Binning, a pioneer modernist artist and educator, was a pivotal figure in the West Coast scene - at the University of British Columbia he was a professor at the School of Architecture, founding head of the Fine Arts Department and developer of the Fine Arts Gallery. Binning's impulse toward abstraction developed from a 1948 series of works based on maritime themes, in which appear the abstracted shapes of hulls of ships, rigging, buoys and portholes. Works such as this playful yet formal painting are taken to an even greater degree of abstraction in which shapes float or are anchored in a loose grid of lines. The work shows the influence of the surrealist atmospheres of Joan Miró and Paul Klee, and Binning experiments with form, space, colour and texture, sparking an aesthetic response in the viewer. Binning's title, Device for Receiving Aesthetic Response, implies that the painting is capable of drawing the viewer's response into it. This delightful painting embodies Binning's dichotomy in his work, his wit and joy versus his cool classicism, the intellect versus the arising unconscious.
Heffel
Nov. 19, 2008
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on board Black Sun & Sea Symbols 6 1/2 x 18 inches 16.5 x 45.7 centimeters signed and dated 1951 and on verso titled and inscribed ""$40."" Provenance:Acquired directly from the Artist in 1951 by the present Private Collection, Vancouver
Heffel
Mar. 29, 2008
B.C. (Bertram Charles) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
B.C. (Bertram Charles) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian serigraph on paper Atomic Fountain AOL0308-E05685-001 14 x 10 inches 35.6 x 25.4 centimeters signed Gordon Smith and editioned 84/100 Provenance:Artists for Kids, Vancouver Private Collection, Vancouver The serigraph "Atomic Fountain" is a commemorative print of a painting created by B.C. Binning in 1950. It was printed posthumously by Gordon Smith with the permission of Mrs. Jessie Binning. This print was produced in the same manner as Night Harbour and others created by Gordon Smith for his good friend during the 1950s. This work was released in January of 1994 by the Artists for Kids Trust.
Heffel
Mar. 29, 2008
B.C. (Bertram Charles) Binning 1909 - 1976
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
B.C. (Bertram Charles) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian ink on paper Jessie Putting Up Howe Sound AOL0308-E05723-001 22 x 17 inches 55.9 x 43.2 centimeters Provenance:Private Collection, Vancouver
Heffel